Weather Prayers & Bar Buoys

Confessions of a Snodgrass Disciple

Holy Jimmy Garoppalo, where does the time go?

We entered spring with zero ground moisture, thinking spring planting would be a painless project when Mother Nature (M.N.) hooked a Louie and busted the drought, dragging spring seeding out to more than two months for many.

I took a trip to Munich (North Dakota, not Germany) last week to pick up some flax seeds and was surprised by how different things looked. Signs of planting season struggles were abundant, with hardly any crop emerging. I sympathize because I’ve finished planting on my late June birthday several times, and sixty percent of the time, it’s ended in disaster every time.

It’s not fun seeding so late, knowing the odds of reaping a profitable harvest are as promising as finding fresh fruit in Northwest Minnesota, but as my doom and gloom-loving uncle says, that’s farmin’.

Hopefully, they will have some luck and have a decent crop. There I go, all hopped up on hopium again.

Our area has been fortunate to miss the excess rains thus far. As luck would have it, my personal weather attendant, Nutrien Ag’s Eric Snodgrass, convinced M.N. to change the weather patterns and let us taste summer here in the North country.

Despite mentioning Snodgrass in approximately 93 percent of these FFT pages, I assure you I don't have a creepy obsession with him. I have a typical old-fashioned obsession with the weather, and nobody better explains its mechanics to a layperson like myself.

Snodgrass has been voted (by me cause nobody votes on these things) as agriculture’s most valuable resource, edging out innovations like the buddy seat, GPS, and Bar Buoy cupholders.

Until last week, the weather was reminiscent of Portland - damp and cool, with a wind similar to Wyoming, but without the hipsters and tweakers. It's great weather if you’re spring wheat or a Scottish golfer, but not so great if you’re corn or a sugar beet.

For those minding the breeze and trying not to drift herbicides on neighboring crops, getting the crop sprayed has been a battle, but we’re finally getting caught up.

I have been swamped lately¹ and feel like a shitheel for not being able to keep up with my FFT productions in the past few weeks. I apologize for that. It's frustrating when you have a lot to do, and unfortunately, with planting, spraying, and managing the seed business taking up most of my time, I had to put writing the FFT on the back burner.

Do not fear; more new stuff is in the editing bin and on its way soon. I hope you all are having a fabulous early-summer weekend and that all the daddy-ohs have a happy pappy’s day today.

Take care of yourselves, and I’ll catch you’s on the flip-flop.

1. As swamped as seven cats playing shuffle-puck on a tin roof